“Eat and drink in contentment for what you used to do, (19) reclining on couches set in rows. And We will marry them to fair maidens with large, beautiful eyes. (20) As for those who believed and whose descendants followed them in faith, We will unite their descendants with them, and We will not diminish anything from their deeds. Every person is held in pledge for what he has earned. (21)”

“Eat and drink in contentment”: that is, free from the harmful consequences of indigestion and illness, “for what you used to do.”

“Reclining on couches set in rows”: placed side by side. “And We will marry them to fair maidens with large, beautiful eyes.”

“As for those who believed and whose descendants followed them in faith”: Abu Amr recited it as “and We caused their descendants to follow them,” with the prefixed hamzah denoting majesty, and read both occurrences of “their descendants” with an alif and a kasrah on the ta, in accordance with “We will unite them with them” and “We will not diminish them,” so that the wording would follow a single pattern.

The other reciters read it as “and their descendants followed them,” joining the initial alif, doubling the following ta, and leaving the final ta vowelless.

They then differed over “their descendants.” The Medinan reciters read the first occurrence (1) without an alif and with a dammah on the ta, and the second with an alif and a kasrah on the ta. The Syrian reciters and Yaqub both read the second occurrence with an alif and a kasrah on the ta. The others read both without an alif, with the ta in the nominative in the first occurrence and in the accusative in the second.

They also differed regarding the meaning of the verse. Some said that its meaning is: those who believed and whose descendants followed them in faith—that is, both their young and adult children. The adults do so through their own faith, while the young do so through the faith of their parents, for a young child is judged to be Muslim by virtue of following either parent. “We will unite their believing descendants with them” [in Paradise, at their rank, even if their own deeds had not enabled them to reach the rank of their fathers] (2), as an honor to their fathers, so that their eyes may be gladdened thereby. This is the narration of Said ibn Jubayr from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them.

Others said that its meaning is: those who believed, whose adult descendants followed them in faith—we will unite their minor descendants with them, those who had not yet come to faith, through the faith of their fathers. This was the view of al-Dahhak, and the narration of al-Awfi from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both. Allah, exalted is He, has informed us that He will gather the descendants of His believing servant with him in Paradise, just as he loved for them to be gathered with him in this world. He will admit them to Paradise by His grace and raise them to his rank through the deeds of their father, without diminishing anything from the fathers’ deeds. This is the meaning of His words, “And We will not diminish them.” Ibn Kathir recited the lam with a kasrah, while the remaining reciters read it with a fathah: that is, We will not diminish anything from their deeds—meaning the deeds of the fathers.